InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Young at Heart ❯ A Night Alone ( Chapter 16 )

Chapter Sixteen: Foaming at the Mouth

 

It took far longer then Kagome had anticipated for Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru to return to the fire. Most of the company now had finished eating their meals, and were lounging back talking about the rift and its location, when Sesshoumaru triumphantly strolled over to the fire. Kagome glanced up and nearly fell over backwards with laughter. Once again the green sucker was placed in its rightful place, however several of Inuyasha's silver hair stuck out between his lips while Sesshoumaru worked with his claws to pull them out of his mouth.

Inuyasha walked back rubbing his abused scalp, and glared at Sesshoumaru's back as the youkai took his place back on Rin's bedding and sat down next to her. Rin looked up and smiled brightly at her Lord.

She leaned over and helped him pull the hair out of his mouth and off the sucker, and Sesshoumaru gagged once, as she took one that had worked part way down his throat. Snorting, Sesshoumaru took the sucker from his mouth and found it easier to remove the unwanted hair from it this way. Once he had finished removing the hair from his sucker, he worked on the hair that had settled in his mouth, and he grunted.

Rin handed him a small tube once all the hair had been remove, and he plopped it back into his mouth with a sniff. Lifting his eyes to Rin's bright brown ones, he tilted his head to the side and waited for her explanation.

He remembered the last time she had given him something and it had successfully managed to tangle him and her in it.

Rin shrugged her shoulders, and leaned over to whisper. “It tasted funny when I tried it before. Don't you remember?”

Sesshoumaru shook his head, and lifted it to his nose. Finding no traces of scent from the tube, he frowned. Pulling the sucker from his mouth, he handed it to Rin, knowing she would keep it safe, and sniffed along the tube curiously. Frustrated that he could detect no scent, he clenched his hand around it and smiled slowly upon discovering the tube molded to the shape of his hand. There was something inside it.

Grinning now, he lifted it once more to his nose and then bit down on the strange tube that held the scent from him. Maybe it was another candy item that Kagome had brought with her. His fangs pierced the tube and stuff squirted out from his puncture wounds, filling his mouth.

He paused surprised, and wrinkled his nose as the stuff settled on his tongue and he quickly yanked the thing out of his mouth and onto the ground. The stuff tasted horrible. Opening his mouth quickly, using his tongue to work around the sticky stuff, he tried to wipe it off his tongue and mouth by pushing the stuff outward with his tongue.

Rin gaped watching him. Hadn't he told her not to put strange things in his mouth if she didn't know what it was? Yet here he was doing exactly the same thing she had. She watched with widening eyes as the stuff frothed in his mouth, and seemed to foam around his lips as he worked on it with his tongue, trying to get it out of his mouth. Her mouth dropped open as his mouth foamed white, and she called to Kagome who glanced over her shoulder.

Kagome looked up at Rin's call and glanced at her curiously, but her eyes fell on Sesshoumaru, who was foaming at the mouth. `Foaming?' She exclaimed to herself startled, gathering her feet quickly and running over to the two.

She knelt down quickly, and then saw the tube of toothpaste that had vanished mysteriously from her pack. Shaking her head, she giggled remembering Inuyasha had done a similar thing with it upon a former inspection of the items she had brought from her era.

Kagome got to her feet and walked back to the fire, and grabbed a plastic water bottle, and brought it back handing it to Sesshoumaru whose eyes were watering and he was whimpering around the stinging in his mouth.

Sesshoumaru gulped the water back as quickly as he could, but dropped the bottle and he scowled at the water smacking his lips together and swallowing. “Yuck.” That was the second time Rin had given him something and it had backfired on him. Glaring at the little girl, he sniffed.

Kagome sighed and shook her head. “So do you want to tell me what else you have of mine that I should know about?”

Sesshoumaru snorted. “As I said, I don't have anything of yours.” Standing up and holding out his arms, he waited for her to inspect him. “Check my pockets, but have I ever lied to anyone?”

Kagome shook her head. “Are you hungry?” She asked him.

He furiously shook his head, and plopped back down on the bedding. Pouting he crossed his arms.

“Are you going to pout all night?” She asked him.

“Not pouting, go away.” Sesshoumaru mumbled.

Kagome rolled her eyes and sighed. “You are too pouting. Never mind.” She walked back to the fire and sat down beside Sango who was petting Kirara. Inuyasha bounded over to Sesshoumaru and Rin, extremely energetic, and he wasn't too sure why. He had this playfulness about him that made Sesshoumaru wary.

“What do you want?” Sesshomaru asked his brother with a frown.

“That guy with the stick says we'll be in a village tomorrow to get more stuff.” Inuyasha beamed.

`Guy with a stick? Huh?' Sesshoumaru's eyes traveled over the group and fell on two with a stick. “Which one? The tall one or short one?”

“The tall one, not the green guy, he is too grumpy.” Inuyasha stated with a wrinkle of his nose.

Rin giggled having said that exact same thing on several occasions.

Sesshoumaru frowned around his sucker and sighed. “What kind of stuff are they wanting to get?”

Inuyasha shrugged his shoulders and pounced away, looking for something to get into. Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed with a sudden thought. “Hey Rin, next time you have something of Kagome's you wish to share, give it to Inuyasha.”

Rin glanced at him, and then giggled nodding her head in agreement. “Okay. Can I shop tomorrow while we are in the village, Lo…I mean Sesshoumaru?”

“What would you shop for?” He asked frowning slightly.

Rin shrugged her shoulders and smiled. “I don't know, maybe a toy or a book.”

“We'll see.” He said simply. Where would she get the money? Blinking suddenly, he remembered that in his other form he had a moneybag tucked in his haori pockets, and quickly reached into his sleeve to see if it was still there. Smiling, he nodded. It was. In all seriousness, he didn't want to go into a human village, even more so now in his childlike form and he groaned. It seemed that tomorrow was going to be a rather long day and he flopped back on Rin's sleeping bag still working on his sucker, much to Rin's disappointment. She had eaten hers too quickly, and now she wanted another one. However, she had seen what Sesshoumaru had done to Inuyasha over his, and she wasn't about to snatch it away, even though highly tempted.

Shaking her head clear from those thoughts, she yawned, and Sesshoumaru peered at her, and then bit back a yawn of his own that threatened to take command of his mouth. Biting his lip and blinking the tears back as the yawn remained locked inside, Rin giggled and yawned again. Sesshoumaru wrinkled his nose at her and found another one of his own try to mimic hers. Sitting up he pulled the sucker out of his mouth and found it was really small now.

Rin giggled even more and this time feigned a yawn and this time Sesshoumaru wasn't able to hold it back and it split across his face, and then he snarled. “Stop that!”

Rin fell onto her back in a fit of giggles, and Sesshoumaru huffed irritated. Inuyasha bounded over to see what was so funny, and Sesshoumaru crunched on the rest of his knob and threw the stick at his brother's head. It landed firmly on his forehead and stuck there.

Rin had seen all of this and broke into another fit of giggles, and she rolled off the edge of her bedroll. Inuyasha crossed his eyes to see the end of the white stick and grinned at his brother. Sesshoumaru only rolled his eyes and snorted. “Idiot.”

Inuyasha barred his fangs at Sesshoumaru, and then pounced. They fell backwards off Rin's bedding and right onto Rin who grunted. “Will you stop jumping on me?” Sesshoumaru growled, pushing his brother off him.

Inuyasha grinned foolishly, and shook his head. “It's fun.”

Sesshoumaru scoffed.

Inuyasha's eyes caught sight of something amongst Rin's bedding and he leaned down sniffing at it curiously. Pulling back the covers on her hidden treasures, Inuyasha felt his eyes widen surprised. “What's all…”

Sesshoumaru smacked his hand over his brother's mouth, and then wiped the slobber off it, on Inuyasha's shirt, disgusted. “Silence, you idiot.”

Inuyasha's eyes went to a round cylinder object, and he picked it up curiously sniffing at it. Frowning, he tapped his finger on the side and something popped off the top causing his eyes to widen in surprise. Where the top had been was a small white thing and he sniffed at it. That was where the scent was coming from.

Grinning, Inuyasha fingered the white thing and frowned when nothing happened, suddenly it hissed, and then his brother growled loudly, falling over backwards clutching his nose tightly and his eyes were clenched shut tightly.

Shrugging his shoulders, Inuyasha picked up the next thing he saw and it was a box shaped thing. Smirking, Inuyasha pointed it at his brother, who now sat up, but fell over backwards startled upon discovering another thing pointed at him. Sesshoumaru's hands flew out to protect his face, and Inuyasha snickered.

Holding the thing out towards his brother, Inuyasha heard a click and then a bright white light blinded him, and blinking rapidly trying to get rid of the annoying spots in front of his eyes, he dropped the offending thing quickly.

Sesshoumaru snorted seeing his brother stare off dumbly, his eyes blinking far too quickly, and he shook his head, and then shared a look with Rin who giggled helplessly beside him.

Inuyasha finally cleared his vision, finding that if he didn't blink the white spots vanished, so trying his hardest not to blink, he reached out for a box. The thing fell apart in his hand and he picked up another thing that had been inside the box. Lifting it to his nose, it seemed boring, but he fingered the end and found the part on the other side sticky.

Turning it over, it was small, and brown, with colorful objects on it and he shrugged flicking his wrist to rid it of the sticky thing. It landed on Sesshoumaru and the older brother snarled softly at his brother. “Stop touching stuff.”

Inuyasha looked up and plucked the thing off Sesshoumaru's nose, and frowned when it latched onto his finger firmly. Sighing, Rin grabbed it and rolled it in her hands like she had seen Kagome do with the floss.

Sesshoumaru slapped Inuyasha's fingers as he reached for another thing on Rin's bedroll and he shook his head, tilting it towards Kagome who was looking at them curiously. Rin quickly shifted and sat down on her treasures, and they all turned to see Kagome get up and walk over to them. She gaped at seeing a white stick stuck to the hanyou's forehead and glanced at Sesshoumaru who shrugged.

“What are you three doing?” She asked, seeing their amused expressions.

Inuyasha blinked and forgot about the spots and he swiped at the air to wipe the spot away. Blinking again, Inuyasha continued to swipe at the air, and tried to outrun the spots that swirled around his eyes, and Sesshoumaru snorted loudly. Kagome watched stunned. “What's wrong with him?”

“Seeing things, perhaps?” Sesshoumaru snickered, and Rin giggled.

Kagome narrowed her eyes at the older brother and shook her head.

 

 

The next morning was eventful for everyone, as they prepared to leave camp. They were all single file, with Sesshoumaru trailing behind miffed at having his hair bound up in a topknot again, shuffling his feet. Inuyasha pounced on the path, darting in and out of the trees, even more childish then the previous night. Having a hoard of children was certainly draining, and Miroku pointed to a village in the distance, much to everyone's relief.

They decided to split up into groups to gather the things they needed while on the road. Miroku, Kagome, Shippo and Kirara all decided to stick together. Mostly due to Sesshoumaru's refusal to be near Kagome, not since that morning when she had accidentally uttered the word stop while talking with Sango.

Jaken and Ah' Uh were left outside the village, at the command of Sesshoumaru who refused to pull the large two headed dragon with them through the narrow paths of the village.

Inuyasha, Rin, Sango and Sesshoumaru were left as a group, although Sesshoumaru was not thrilled about that either, when his memory recalled the demon slayer to be the one who picked him up by the scruff of his neck. Glowering and trudging after his group, he muttered under his breath disdainfully.

Rin was excited, as she ran from shop to shop glancing at the many items that lay sprawled out in stunning displays. Sesshoumaru sniffed, but froze as a rather tantalizing smell filled his senses. Blinking, and turning his eyes following his nose, he came to a booth where items steamed. Lifting his finger, he touched one, and brought his claw to his nose to see if that was what had grabbed his attention. Smiling happily, he pulled down the round object and walked away happily, holding it in both arms tightly incase someone tried to take it from him.

Glancing around carefully to make sure his brother was no where in sight, Sesshoumaru promptly sat on the ground cross-legged in the middle of the road and placed a piece of the pastry into his mouth.

He was perhaps half way done his treat when Rin came racing around the corner apparently looking for him, and he glanced up at her call. Rin stopped and stared at him for a long moment before she said anything.

“Where did you get that?” She asked. However, she didn't comment on his sitting place, not yet at least.

Sesshoumaru waved his hand over to a booth a little ways down the road, and Rin glanced up seeing a woman frowning looking for her missing pastry.

Gasping, Rin glared at Sesshoumaru. “Did you buy it?”

Frowning and mumbling around his mouthful of food, he tilted his head for a moment. “Bie eh?”

Rin gaped at him. “Sesshoumaru!” She scolded. Reaching down and grabbing his arm firmly, she dragged him down the street, his eyes wide staring at his dropped treat on the ground.

Rin pulled him around the corner and glared at him, before walking up to Sango and then ignoring him. Sesshoumaru pouted, and followed disgruntled. Having lost his treat, he wondered what else he could find. He was hungry. Suddenly he was gripped by the back of his haori and pulled into a shop before he could comprehend what was going on.

“Oh Sutzuki, I found a model for you. Perfect child!” Sesshoumaru was shoved into a small room filled with colorful cloths, and he gaped. About-facing immediately, several human women tackled him and he whimpered in panic. What was with humans? Did they not understand personal space?

Before he could even think of snarling, he was quickly wrapped up in a bright green and pink piece of cloth, and he grunted as it was wound around him tightly. “Lemme go!” He cried out.

Another cloth was placed around him, and he blushed suddenly realizing exactly what it was. Horrified, he tried to scramble away. Were they blind?

Absolutely stunned that these women could not tell a female child from a male one, he cried out for anyone who could aid him from the insane human women who attacked his person.

Sango rushed through the door and paused for a moment and then started giggling. Rin followed and tilted her head in surprise, and Sesshoumaru whimpered. “Get me out of here!” He begged. Trying to reach for Sango who was just slightly out of his immediate reach. Flexing his hand for emphasis, he turned and bit the hand on his shoulder, and jumped down from the stool he had been on. Frantically racing out the door, he heaved in deep breaths of air. Inuyasha sat on the ground watching silently, and his ears twitched when Sesshoumaru growled at him.

Sango came out still staring at him, and he growled loudly, shredding the cloth that still clung to his body. “Hells, what's with this place?” He grumbled, and took off down the dirt path.

Snorting as he rounded a corner, safe from the human seamstresses, he found himself facing a group of children kicking around a ball. Frowning, he watched as they stopped and stared at him. He wrinkled his nose and held their eyes with his golden ones.

“It's a demon!” One child called out.

“Is it a filthy half breed like Yuri?” Another asked, mockingly.

Sesshoumaru snorted and released a small snarl. Half-breed? Who were they kidding? “Don't mistake me for a half-breed, human.” He growled.

He spun around quickly feeling another presence behind him and he looked up into a pair of rather disturbing brown eyes. The way they looked at him made him extremely uncomfortable. Suddenly, something sharp hit the back of his head, and he whirled around confused.

Another missile flew towards him, but he grabbed it out of thin air before it could hit its mark. They were throwing rocks at him. Dropping it to the ground, he snarled. Sesshoumaru was shoved from behind causing him to stumble forward, and making to hurt the boy who dared touch him spun around to face him. Another missile flew at him and landed on his temple hard, making his mind reel for a moment in stunned surprise.

A blur of white flew through the air and Sesshoumaru gaped seeing his brother standing there confronting the boys. Shocked and bewildered, he heard his brother defend him. Inuyasha was defending him of all people. Why? Shaking his head, Sesshoumaru gripped his brother's shirt and held him back from attacking the boys.

“That one's a hanyou!” The first boy laughed raucously. “Look at his ears!” The boys laughed, pointing at his brother.

Inuyasha flexed his fingers. “Come here and say that!” He growled.

Sesshoumaru's eyes widened for a second and he frowned. “Let's go, Inuyasha.” Did his brother grow up to this sort of taunting? Was his brother actually taking the bait? Frowning as his brother flexed his fingers, ready to take on the numerous boys, Sesshoumaru pondered what it must have been like for him growing up.

One boy stepped forward, and made a fist with his hand, while the boy behind them gave both Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha a forceful shove causing them to stumble to the ground. Sesshoumaru growled and shot to his feet in an instant, and snarled. This boy was much larger then the two Inu brothers, and took advantage of his height.

Several large rocks suddenly pelted Inuyasha and most of them hit its mark, causing Inuyasha to whimper. Sesshoumaru whirled around to face his brother, and jumped in front of him, and swiped his hands knocking the missiles to the ground.

A low whine from behind him made Sesshoumaru look over his shoulder and he saw his brother hoisted up in the arms of the taller boy. The boy lifted Inuyasha to his face, and then lifted his fist, making Sesshoumaru's eyes widen in horror at what this human intended to do. Disgusted, Sesshoumaru had only whirled around to take the boy out, when Sango raced around the corner with Rin, and they both stopped.

“Put him down this instant.” Sango said angrily. “How dare you boys take advantage of children smaller then you. You should know better.”

Upon seeing the adult female in a rage, the boys about-faced and fled down the streets. Inuyasha was dropped unceremoniously to the ground, and he whimpered. Sesshoumaru's eyes trailed after the children and he frowned. These boys tormented smaller children, and his mind was sent into a flurry of emotions. Rin had had a nightmare on a night long ago, before he had resorted to a pup form, and he remembered asking her about it.

She had said she was always the villagers target for things going missing, or the boys and girls of the village found it entertaining to pick on her. Glancing over at the girl, her eyes told him that she remembered the incident, and she sadly looked at the ground with her memory.

Frowning even deeper, he remembered taking Inuyasha in after his mother had passed. The pup had been tired and lonely, and didn't speak much at first. Sesshoumaru also remembered the pup flinching several times when he lifted his hands to quickly.

Had Inuyasha been subjected to the same treatment when he was a pup? Seeing what the humans were capable of, Sesshoumaru felt his frown deepen even more, and this caused his eyes to narrow dangerously. If he remembered when he resorted to his other form, he would have to come back to this village, and check out these children's behavior regarding the half demon they had mentioned. Yuri, that was her name. Smirking, he turned and followed Sango as she called out to him.

Sesshoumaru allowed his eyes to trail where the boys had vanished in, and he sniffed the air, memorizing their scents. He would intervene if they were tormenting this half demon, but he would not admit that to anyone. Cruelty was something he was not fond of, no matter the race or breed. Smiling now, he knew he wouldn't kill them, but he would elicit fear. However, he would have to wait until he was in his usual form.

Formulating a plan in his head on how he would deal with the boys, he knew he didn't care about the humans. However he had been subjected to their torment and he was far from pleased with the situation. Sesshoumaru felt a soft snarl erupt from his lips, and Rin's hand surprised him when it gripped his tightly.

Surprised and bewildered, Sesshoumaru glanced up and stared at her. Rin grinned at him happily. She never stopped to amaze him. Even though only moments ago, the memory of her time with the villagers had saddened her. Now she was brilliantly happy. Frowning, he tilted his head confused.

“Don't be angry, Sesshoumaru.” Rin shrugged cheerfully. “They don't know what they are doing. They were only scared of you and Inuyasha, and they showed it through throwing rocks. I found that they only did that because we are different and don't know any better.”

Blinking stupidly at her, the words rammed into his brain forcefully. “Does it not bother you?”

Rin shook her head. “Not any more, because you were there. I used to be lonely, but I'm not anymore.” Releasing his hand, Rin skipped off towards Sango, and Sesshoumaru stared at her back. This girl surprised him more and more on a daily basis.

Inuyasha sauntered up beside him, and looked like a lost puppy. His golden eyes were far off, and Sesshoumaru peered at him closely. His brother's mood had changed drastically from the experience, not having any memory of his own past abuse, and Sesshoumaru swallowed.

Had father still been alive during Inuyasha's upbringing, he would not have allowed the treatment. Sesshoumaru remembered Izayoi being sad most of the time, as he watched on from the protective trees that had surrounded the village. From what he had seen when he had been there, Inuyasha had always been left alone. Inuyasha had always seemed to play by himself. Not once did Sesshoumaru see the humans abuse him, but it must have happened. He made a mental note to ask about it after they resorted back to their normal forms.

Sesshoumaru nudged his brother and tilted his head slightly. “Think nothing of it.” He whispered.

“I want mother.” Inuyasha whispered back.

Sesshoumaru nodded in understanding. “Father would have protected both of us, just like Sango did. We're okay right?”

Inuyasha nodded and walked more quickly, wiping his eyes with his sleeve leaving Sesshoumaru alone once again. Sighing, he raced up to the group and followed closely, glancing around for any more signs of mistreatment.

Perhaps both Rin and Inuyasha had taught him something. If Rin could shrug off such horrid abuse, then perhaps she also could teach his brother about it. Inuyasha had taught him that his actions grown up resulted in his past experiences, so perhaps Sesshoumaru had been wrong about his brother.

Inuyasha wasn't weak. He had found strength in his life, and had found someone he could trust. His friends were evidence of that. What confused Sesshoumaru was why his brother choose human's for friends when his childhood had been stolen by those very same. Looking at his feet, he pondered this. Even though humans had taunted Inuyasha, he still had friends. The monk, the demon exterminator, and the strangely clad girl, Kagome were all his friends. They stuck by him no matter what, and didn't ridicule him for his appearance of lineage.

Stopping, Sesshoumaru felt his eyes widen. Was that why Inuyasha despised him so much? Because all he did was taunt him about his blood? He had only wanted to teach Inuyasha to be alert, and to find strength in himself, but in truth, he had been going about it the wrong way. It did enrage his younger brother and he fought ferociously when their swords clashed. The anger and fear had also been there. Including the humiliation.

Blinking, Sesshoumaru knew his brother didn't have a say in the matter of his bloodline. He didn't choose to be born of a youkai and a human. Hunching his shoulders, he kicked at a stray rock that lay at his feet. Sesshoumaru realized that his own taunting had hurt Inuyasha greatly, and shaking out of his thoughts, he raced back up to the group and decided to amend his actions towards his brother.

Even though he himself had been humiliated, it was far less then what Inuyasha had been through. Sesshoumaru had felt betrayed and abandoned by their father, but now he realized that his father only wished Inuyasha to be able to protect himself. The passing of Tenseiga to him, he still debated. Silently, he thought back on what his father had said to him.

“Do you have someone to protect?”

Those words still rang in his ears, and now he wondered if his father had meant something more. Perhaps his father giving him Tenseiga was also a lesson. Gasping audibly and causing the others in the group to halt their steps and stare at him, Sesshoumaru was hit fully with his father's intensions of handing him the sword of healing.

His father wanted him to learn to love. To love life. To love someone. To protect someone. Raising his eyes to Rin, and then to Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru felt suddenly sick. Gulping the air furiously, Sesshoumaru whimpered at his own stupidity. He was smarter then this wasn't he? Was he so blind that it had taken this long, and this resorting to a pup for him to realize his father's intentions? Shaking his head, he brushed off Sango's hand, and nodded when she asked if he was okay.

“I'm fine.” He snapped, angry at himself.

“Don't let those boys get to you, Sesshoumaru. It's the same for all hanyou.” Sango sighed. “Anyone different…”

He cut her off. “It's not that! I have been stupid!” Without another word, Sesshoumaru raced down the narrow street, and headed towards where he had left Jaken and Ah' Uh. Having felt the great need to get as far away from the village as possible, Sesshoumaru felt his foot catch on something and he tumbled to the ground, grunting at the impact.

His chin slammed into the earth hard, causing his teeth to rattle at the impact, and his eyes grew hazy. Pushing himself up onto his hands and knees, he whimpered. How could he have been so stupid? Shaking his head, he clamored to his feet and walked slowly out of the village and whispered into the air. “Forgive me father. I did not know.”

Slipping into the trees, Sesshoumaru went to find someplace quiet for a while to process this new information. He didn't want anyone interfering with his thoughts, and so went to find solitude.

 

Sango ran after Sesshoumaru, but stopped on the out skirts of the village. He had vanished. Spinning around quickly, she saw Inuyasha and Rin close behind her, and waved for them to follow her. “We need to find the others.” Sango said, hefting her packages over her shoulder.

“Where is Sesshoumaru?” Inuyasha asked, looking around.

“I think he went back to Jaken and Ah `Uh. We will meet up with him later.” Turning around, Sango walked back into town, searching for the others quickly.

It didn't take her long to locate Kagome with her white and green uniform, and Sango called out waving. They turned but paused in waving back when they noticed Sesshoumaru missing.

Sango quickly informed them of what happened, and they nodded in understanding, but gathered their own items and headed out of the village in a hurry. Kagome felt uneasy, and once they had climbed the hill to where Jaken and the two-headed dragon were, they saw no signs of Sesshoumaru.

“Did Sesshoumaru come this way?” Kagome asked, before allowing any panic to fill her, but at Jaken's shaking of his head, her alarm raised full fold. “We need to find him.” She gasped, spinning around to the others.

Sango and Kirara quickly left, flying into the air, and Jaken, Miroku and Ah' Uh headed in the other direction. That left Kagome with Rin, Shippo and Inuyasha. “Hey, Inuyasha?”

The boy turned around from staring into the forest. “Yes?”

“Can you sniff out your brother's scent?” Kagome asked, praying silently that he would say he could.

Inuyasha lifted his nose to the air and sniffed several times, but shook his head. “I don't smell him nearby. I don't think he's here.”

Kagome lifted her head in dread. Thinking rapidly, she shouted loudly. “Sesshoumaru!”

There was no answer.

“Sesshoumaru! Stop! Come back!” Listening carefully, she waited to hear anything, his response, or even his crashing to the earth from the beads, but there was no sound. Her heart picked up pace, and she panicked.

 

After shouting into the woods for several hours, Kagome felt tears fill her eyes; there was still no sign of Sesshoumaru. The others had also returned shaking their heads, and it was growing dark.

Rin saw tears in Kagome's eyes and frowning, she glanced into the dark woods silently. Sesshoumaru would be okay, wouldn't he? He had been strange after the boys had thrown rocks at him and Inuyasha, but she remembered she had acted like that too. The group set up camp and Kagome stared off in the woods, still calling out for the small youkai.

“How dare he worry us like this.” Kagome suddenly raged.

Sango shook her head. “I don't think it was intentional, Kagome. He was upset after what happened this afternoon.”

Jaken yelled out. “Fool, he is never upset, even as he is now. He has just gone off to get away from all you humans!”

Ah' Uh turned his right head and bit Jaken firmly on the shoulder, and the toad spluttered in surprise.

Shippo shook his head and sat down on the ground with his arms crossed. “It's something Inuyasha would do.” He grumbled. “Running off and telling no one where he went.”

Inuyasha peered at the little fox for a moment, confused. “When have I run off?” He asked, looking around the company for answers.

Kagome shook her head. “Don't pay him any mind, Inuyasha. Shippo is confused.” She glared at the kit when she said the last bit.

Shippo caught the look and quickly amended his mistake. “Uh, right. I am confused. I have another friend named Inuyasha.” He grinned.

Kagome rolled her eyes and once again looked into the forest, hoping that where ever Sesshoumaru was, he would be safe. However the feeling of dread seeped into her heart and she shuddered.

 

Sesshoumaru opened his eyes slowly, startled that he had fallen asleep. Sitting upright, he glanced around him for a moment, and remembered that he had walked off alone. The night had approached while he had been sleeping, but why would he wake up now of all times?

Frowning, he glanced around, his golden eyes peering into the darkness curiously. Lifting his nose to the air, he caught a scent. It was a youkai. Frowning deeper, he stood up and brushed off his hakama pants and looked around to gain his bearings. Had he traveled so far that he was unable to pick out any of the companions he had been with? He must have. Turning away from the scent of the youkai, he headed in the direction he hoped the others would be. Shuddering, he wondered if they were angry. Nodding, he knew Inuyasha's girl would be.

Clicking his tongue, he looked down at the beads around his neck and rolled his eyes. Silently, he wondered how many times she would shout out that horrid word as a punishment. Shrugging his shoulders, he gaped when he realized that his concentration had been broken, and the youkai had found him.

Spinning around quickly, he squeaked and jumped into the air, barely missing a large clawed hand that had tried to squish him. The youkai was enormous. Blinking upward, Sesshoumaru ducked a swipe at his head, and bolted into the trees. He needed to find the others, and fast. This youkai's aura overwhelmed his, and he would be killed instantly if he stayed.

Trying to urge his tiny legs to move faster, Sesshoumaru stared straight a head, biting back the cry of terror that threatened to escape his mouth. A jolt to his back caused him to loose his footing, and he plummeted to the ground hard. Rolling onto his back, he gasped and felt his eyes widen, as a hand flew towards him, intending to squeeze the very life out of him. Clenching his eyes shut, the last thought that shot through his mind was, `Rin.'